Thursday, March 30, 2017

Here Comes Judge Napolitano

Andrew Napolitano

Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano returned to the air on Wednesday morning and stood by the unsubstantiated wiretapping claims that got him in hot water with his network nearly two weeks ago.

The former New Jersey Superior Court judge had not been on the air since March 16 as he became enmeshed in the controversy over President Trump’s still-unproven claim that his predecessor had ordered surveillance of Trump Tower.

Napolitano, citing unnamed sources, had said that the British foreign surveillance agency “most likely” provided Obama with transcripts of Trump’s recorded calls.

FBI Director James B. Comey said his agency and the Department of Justice have "no information" to support Trump's allegations that President Obama ordered wiretapping of Trump and his campaign.

While Fox News never made an official statement about a change in Napolitano’s status, he was conspicuously missing from its coverage last week on the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Napolitano was taken off the air and management had addressed the matter with him, said people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to comment.

According to The LA Times, Napolitano returned on “America’s Newsroom” with only a passing reference to his absence made by anchor Bill Hemmer, who, after introducing him, said, “You've had a few quiet days.”

A representative of Fox News said the “matter was addressed internally” and declined to comment further.